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Small but rising number of Va. babies born with a preventable disease

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:55:17 GMT

In Virginia and nationwide, there’s been a jump in syphilis cases among women of childbearing age. And there’s a corresponding increase in the number of babies born with the condition.The Virginia Department of Health reports that there were 20 babies born last year with syphilis, the highest number in more than three decades.More Health and Fitness NewsMore Virginia News“Congenital syphilis cases nationally have increased 185% from 2017 to 2021 … We went from one case that we had in 2003 to 20 cases that were diagnosed in 2022,” said Oana Vasiliu, director of STD prevention and surveillance at the Virginia Department of Health.The majority of cases in Virginia are among African American and Hispanic babies, and more than a third of moms had late or no prenatal care.“This is a result of several years of continuous increases of syphilis rates among Virginia populations as well as nationally. To give you an example of the extent of the problem, rates of s...

AP source: Saints, RB Jamaal Williams agree on 3-year deal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:55:17 GMT

The New Orleans Saints and running back Jamaal Williams agreed on a $12 million, three-year contract, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the team hasn’t announced the agreement, said it includes $8 million in guaranteed money. Williams led the NFL with 17 rushing touchdowns while running for a career-best 1,066 yards with the Detroit Lions last season. Williams played four seasons with the Packers before joining the Lions in 2021. He has averaged 4.0 yards per carry in his career. Williams joins five-time Pro Bowl running back Alvin Kamara in the backfield. Kamara is facing a potential suspension for legal troubles. Last month, a grand jury in Nevada indicted Kamara, Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Chris Lammons and two others on two criminal counts in connection with an alleged beating at a Las Vegas nightclub last February.Williams has 3,652 yards rushing, 160 receptions for 1,191 yards and ...

Mississippi State women win First Four game over Illinois

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:55:17 GMT

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — Jessika Carter had 22 points, nine rebounds and four blocks, Anastasia Hayes added 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists and Mississippi State beat Illinois 70-56 on Wednesday night to begin the NCAA Tournament in a First Four game.Mississippi State (21-10) advances to the field of 64 to take on No. 6 seed Creighton. The Bulldogs improved to 14-3 in the NCAA Tournament since the 2016-17 season. Freshman Debreasha Powe scored four points during Mississippi State’s 11-2 run to begin the third quarter for a 42-32 lead. The Bulldogs extended it to 52-38 at the end of the quarter after shooting 53%. Kourtney Weber sank a 3-pointer to cap a 9-1 run to begin the fourth quarter for a 61-39 lead.After Mississippi State’s lead was cut to 12 points with 4:19 left, Carter scored four straight points to reach 20-plus for the sixth time this season.JerKaila Jordan also scored 11 points for Mississippi State. Weber finished with eight points.Carter scored 1...

The Hunt: ‘Rare’ mass shooting in Germany prompts concerns about mental illness, terrorism, and guns

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:55:17 GMT

On this week’s edition of “The Hunt with WTOP national security correspondent J.J. Green,” Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler, senior director of the Counter Extremism Project, says Germans are shocked and worried. toggle audio on and off change volume download audio Dr. Hans-Jakob Schindler speaks about how rare the most recent mass shooting was for Germany because of strict gun laws $(function () { $('.wtop-audio-container .fa-play').on('click', function(){ var audio_filename = $('div.wtop-audio-file').data("mp3-url"); ga('send', 'event', 'Audio', 'play', audio_filename); }); }); SIGN UP TODAY for J.J. Green’s new natio...

Kelly’s 21 lead UCF past Florida 67-49 in NIT

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:55:17 GMT

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) — CJ Kelly scored 21 points and UCF beat No. 4 seed Florida 67-49 on Wednesday night in the NIT.UCF (19-14) advances to the second round to play the winner of the Oregon-UC Irvine game.Kelly shot 9 for 13, including 2 for 4 from beyond the arc for the Knights. Taylor Hendricks scored 17 points and added eight rebounds. Ithiel Horton recorded 12 points and shot 5 for 10, including 2 for 6 from beyond the arc.Riley Kugel led the way for the Gators (16-17) with 13 points. Niels Lane and Myreon Jones each added six points. Florida lost eight of its last 11 contests, and went without its leading scorer, Colin Castleton, since Feb. 15 due to a broken hand.UCF took the lead with 11:52 left in the first half and never looked back. Hendricks led his team in scoring with 13 points in the first half to help put them up 35-26 at the break. UCF pulled away with a 9-0 run in the second half to extend a nine-point lead to 18 points. They outscored Florida by nine points in t...

Company gets a bit closer to raising $1.1B it needs for mine

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:55:17 GMT

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A mining company that wants to extract a collection of rare elements from beneath southeast Nebraska raised funds Wednesday toward its goal of finding the $1.1 billion it needs to build the mine that has been in the works for decades.Shareholders of a special purpose acquisition company called GX Acquisition Corp. II overwhelmingly approved merging with NioCorp, a Centennial, Colorado-based mining company, according to a regulatory filing. About $15 million from the deal will go to NioCorp, the company said.The GXII deal involves one of the risky shell companies once popular on Wall Street before many fell out of favor and had to be liquidated before they ever completed a deal. The SPACs, as they are known, are essentially companies created solely to merge with another business to invest in it.NioCorp shareholders also approved an $81 million financing deal with Yorkville Advisors Global last week.But the mine the company hopes to build about 80 miles (130 kilomet...

Rockslide briefly closes I-70 near Vail 

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:55:17 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — Interstate 70 was briefly closed in both directions Wednesday after a rockslide in Dowd Canyon, west of Vail.According to the Colorado Department of Transportation, the rocks slid from the north side of the highway, landing in the eastbound and westbound lanes. The largest rocks were the size of "a couple of couches," according to a spokesperson. Campaign launched against Kroger-Albertsons merger Cam Conner caught the aftermath on video as he was driving through the area. CDOT said no injuries were reported and no vehicle damage has been reported. A spokesperson said rockfall is common in Dowd Canyon, especially during the spring.

Campaign launched against Kroger-Albertsons merger

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:55:17 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) — A coalition formed against the proposed Kroger-Albertsons merger has launched an opposition campaign in hopes of putting a stop to the effort.The "Stop the Merger" campaign urges people to write to the Federal Trade Commission to oppose the plan. It includes 100 organizations from around the country, according to the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 7, which represents workers at both grocery chains. What happens if you don’t have license plates in Colorado? "The mega-merger, currently undergoing FTC review, would drive out competition, increase food prices, create food deserts, and put hundreds of thousands of jobs at risk as well as hurt local farmers and ranchers," the UFCW Local 7 wrote in a news release about the campaign.Kroger and Albertsons — the parent companies of King Soopers and Safeway — are asking for the FTC's approval in the $25 billion merger effort. Kroger is the country's second-largest grocer, while Albertsons is the fourth.Kroger,...

Denver donates bison to US tribes that seek to restore bond with animal

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:55:17 GMT

GOLDEN, Colo. (AP) — Dozens of bison from a mountain park outside Denver were transferred Wednesday to several tribes from across the Great Plains, in the latest example of Native Americans reclaiming stewardship over animals their ancestors lived alongside for millennia.Following ceremonial drumming and singing and an acknowledgment of the tribes that once occupied the surrounding landscape, the bison were loaded onto trucks for relocation to tribal lands. Campaign launched against Kroger-Albertsons merger About a half-dozen of the animals from Colorado will form the nucleus of a new herd for the Yuchi people south of Tulsa, Oklahoma, said Richard Grounds with the Yuchi Language Project. The herd will be expanded over time, to reestablish a spiritual and physical bond broken two centuries ago when bison were nearly wiped out and the Yuchi were forced from their homeland, Grounds said.He compared the burly animals' return to reviving the Yuchi's language — and said both language a...

Miami neighborhood on edge days after man fires semi-automatic rifle, striking home

Published Fri, 21 Feb 2025 12:55:17 GMT

Residents of a Miami neighborhood said their sense of security was taken away by a man captured on surveillance video unloading a barrage of bullets with a high-powered rifle in the middle of the night.The gunshots, discharged in the early hours of March 7 along Southwest 23rd Street, between 14th and 16th avenues, have left residents shaken.“I heard them at 2:47 a.m.,” said area resident Shirley Nashiro. “I don’t feel safe.”The semi-automatic blasts jolted people out of their sleep in this otherwise quiet section of the Magic City.“There’s a lot of children here now, and everybody’s scared,” said Beba Sardiña Mann with the Silver Bluff Homeowners Association.“Pretty unpleasant and somehow frightening,” said a man who lives in the neighborhood.Bullets sailed into a home on that Tuesday morning. Fortunately, no one inside the residence was injured.Residents of the home that was shot at declined to discuss the incident ...